The Nurse and the Colonel
"I read that Judge O'Connor said that when judges have millions spent to get elected, they might have a hard time being fair. It might shake people's confidence in the court. She said we should select judges by a merit system."
"Maybe she is right. But what she didn't say is what to do with the judges we already have. What do we do with the ones who voted no for caps based on reasons that don't make sense? They got their jobs after first getting the approval of the power brokers among the wealthy plaintiff lawyers who make the most money from the legal system. We can't have fairness with a stacked court.
"We need the voters to demand justice, and to vote no to injustice."
The Colonel and the Chaplan
"Clout is quite a game in this state. It has helped make a difference in some cases on who makes it to the the court bench."
"Clout doesn't belong here, at this level. Sometimes saying No when we vote is the only thing we can do."
The Captain and the Corporal
"Captain, did you hear the latest, that the there is a plan to have the state loan money to lawyers to bring more law suits?"
"Yea, it is the newest stimulus plan. Some are calling it Loot for Lawyers. That would chase away not only doctors, but jobs for everyone, except the lawyers."
The Nurse and the Colonel
" I read in a journal of an idea to manage outrageous liability costs with a plan they called "disclosure and offer."
I have also heard about hopes for "health care courts." What do you think, Colonel?"
"None of these ideas limit Jackpot Justice, without a law for caps that the state supreme court agrees to. And we already know what the current group on this court thinks about caps. In Washington, the Plaintiff Trial Lawyer lobby still holds the power and the votes to block legislation for caps there. Just look at the absence of meaningful malpractice reform in the new health care law. It doesn't make any sense. Jackpot justice remains a threat to all of us in healthcare, and an extra cost to everyone. Without a change in the state supreme court, things don't look good."
Captain and the Chaplan
“Hey, I read somewhere that a union leader said he was glad that they dumped caps.”
“Yea, it makes you wonder who he was representing. When the doctors were leaving southern Illinois, most working families I know were
more worried about loosing their doctor then they were worried about limiting their chances for jackpot justice.”
The Colonel and the Corporal
“Colonel, don’t you buy the separation of powers argument?”
“Somebody buys it. It seems that at least on some issues, there is a definite three part separation of power. There are the Kings and Queens of Tort, the people they help elect, and then there are the rest of us..........Our voice is in the legislature. They make the law. The supreme court is suppose to just make sure that the law follows the constitution of the state. When the court rejects a law, written for the common good, for reasons that don't make sense, we all lose."
Captain and the Nurse
“The Supremes said that the argument that “everybody’s doing it” isn’t a good enough argument to do it. I agree with them, I don’t want any limits. I’m talking of course about no limits on awards,…. or perhaps rewards. You’ll go along with that, won’t you?”
“Take a hike. That kind of fuzzy thinking deserves a no vote from me.”
The Colonel
and the Corporal
“Colonel, aren’t you surprised they struck down the caps?”
“Corporal, we can’t be too surprised. This is the third time they have done it.”
“What do we do now though?”
“Corporal, we do what we always do. We take care of the sick and injured….And we go back to work… maybe a little wiser for the
beating. We can only hope that the voters fix this broken system.”
